Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

MONTENEGRO 535

Cetinje 0

39 km (24 miles) W of Podgorica.

• 16,000. @ n (041) 230 250.
  http://www.cetinje.travel

Once the capital of
Montenegro, Cetinje exudes
an inescapable air of faded
grandeur. Podgorica replaced
the town as capital in 1946
but despite the loss of its
official sta tus, it is still consid-
ered to be the country’s
historic cen tre; it was here
that King Ivan Crnojević
established the capital of the
old Zeta king dom in the 15th
century. Pretty houses line
the streets and low rocky hills
frame the town on all sides.
The most significant
building here, the Cetinje
Monastery (Cetinjski Manastir),
was con structed in 1701 to
replace the 15th-cen tury
Crnojević Monastery. As the
seat of Montenegro’s reli gious
leader, Vladika, the monas tery
attracted the coun try’s influen-
tial figures and func tioned as
the unofficial capital and
centre of organized resist ance
against the Ottomans. Today,
the monas tery is best known
for pos sessing what is believed
to be St John the Baptist’s
right hand, a tiny frag ment
of the original Holy Cross
and for its Treasury Museum.
Exhibits in the museum
include unique reli gious
manuscripts dating back to
the 13th century and deco-
rative 16th-century crosses
pain stakingly carved with
mini ature biblical scenes.
Next to the monastery is
Bilyarda, a castle-like, single
storey palace, built in 1838
for Petar II Petrović Njegoš.
Surrounded by a wall with
towers, the palace now
functions as the Njegoš
Museum (Njegošev muzej),
where visi tors can see
many of the king’s per sonal
possessions, including period
furniture and a billiard table.
Nearby is the Montenegrin
National History Museum
(Istorijski muzej Crne Gore),
housed in the Government
House (Zetski Dom), which
was built in 1910 to accommo-
date government offices and
the national assem bly. On
the ground floor is the

Durmitor National

Park w

Nacionalni park Durmitor

140 km (87 miles) N of Podgorica.

@ from Podgorica. n ulica

Jovana Cvijića, (052) 360 228.

http://www.nparkovi.co.me

Designated a national park

in 1952 and a UNESCO

World Heritage Site in

1980, Durmitor National

Park takes in a vast expanse

of spectacu lar scenery. One

of the oldest protected areas

in Montenegro, it is situated

on a 1,500-m (4,920-ft) high

pla teau, from which numerous

peaks rise to heights of about

2,500 m (8,200 ft).

Known for its glacial lakes,

waterfalls and crystal-clear

rivers, the park has a broad

range of flora and fauna,

including moun tain maple,

Bosnian iris, edel weiss,

Montenegrin bell flower, and

bears, wolves, golden eagles

and white-headed vultures. It

is also famous for its 400-year-

old black pine forest with

trees up to 50 m (165 ft) tall.

History Museum, which

exhib its a vast array of Turkish

war tro phies. Highlights

include the death mask of the

legend ary Albanian ruler Karo

Mahmud Pasha Busatlija. On

the first floor is the museum’s

absorbing collec tion of 19th-

and 20th-cen tury Montenegrin

and Yugoslavian art.

Cetinje Monastery

Cetinje BB. Tel (041) 231 021.

# 8am–6pm daily. & =

E Njegoš Museum

trg Kralja Nikole, Biljarda.

Tel (041) 230 310. # 9am–5pm

daily. & =

E Montenegrin National

History Museum

Novice Cerovića 7, Vladin

Dom. Tel (041) 230 310.

# 9am–5pm daily. & =

Façade of the imposing

18th-century Cetinje Monastery

The superb mountain range around Durmitor National Park

Ostrog

Monastery q

Manastir Ostrog

See pp536–7.